VARIETIES AND HYBRIDIZING 
Iris of all the various species have ‘taken the world by storm’. Almost every grower of iris will 
some time or another feel the urge to make crosses, so we have untold thousands throughout the 
world who make a hobby of producing new and unusual colors in iris. Tall Bearded iris seem about 
the most simple to grow and hybridize, so it is little wonder their popularity is great, and that such 
strides for color and quality have been made. The pollen of the tall bearded does not blow about or 
have a tendency to self fertilize its own flower without outside help from either man or insect. The 
parts are so constructed, with a stigma on each of the style arms, above and over the stamens that 
carry the pollen, so that even though one may not remove all the stamens there is little possibility of 
self fertilization of this flower. If, however, there are heavy infestations of pollen thrips, or frequent 
visits from bumble bees, it is wise to pull off all the falls of the flower to be pollinated. Of course 
every hybridizer likes to pollenize a freshly opened flower, and in some instances such difficult parents 
as Wm. Mohr, and other hybrids, it is often advisable to pull open the flowers and to pollinate each 
stigma generously with the desired pollen before the stigmas have had any chance to dry. With 
such difficult parents, just mentioned, it may be necessary to do this late in the evening or very early 
morning. But with the average bearded iris the most fertile flower is usually the one that has opened 
normally and has just “ripened”’ its own pollen, if it has any. Some bearded iris stay receptive for 
only a few hours, while others may remain fertile into the second day. We find the early blooms 
give us the larger pods with more seed, and they usually are more strongly attached to the stalks 
and are less likely subject to accidents. It is wise, however, where much rain is experienced after 
crosses are made to remove the spath sheaths around the flowers’ ovaries, and side branches, so that 
moisture does not hold there and cause the pods to rot or the side branches to fall off with precious 
crosses. 
I believe almost every fancier knows the mechanics of making the crosses. I find a little box to 
hold half sheets of typing paper folded into “envelopes” to carry the stamens with pollen a very 
useful thing during the iris season, and pollens will keep (dry) in this manner for long periods of 
time, making it possible to use early varieties with midseason and late-blooming kinds, and one 
always has pollen available, whereas nature can, with rain or hail, make it impossible to find 
“dry” pollen when urgently needed. A pair of tweezers attached to a string tied about one’s neck 
is absolutely essential. Next the tags to mark the crosses properly. It is impossible to remember 
very many crosses, and one may think, at the time, he can remember, but after a few days pass 
other things occupy (or seem to) the corner of one’s mind where this information was ‘'safely’’ stored. 
So strong paper tags that will not peel, wood-tree labels, aluminum or plastic labels are best to mark 
each cross. Often one tag will suffice to record a goodly number of crosses on one stalk. If every 
flower on the stalk is crossed the same the hybridizer may mark “all” on the tag near the name of 
the pollen parent used, or if another variety is used on the flower just below the tag he will write 
“Tobacco Road J. B.” or if still another on the bottom branch he may mark: “Technicolor B.”, etc. 
But it is most important to keep a careful record for it enhances the value of plants raised from the 
cross and will teach the hybridizer much in his quest for better iris; and although seedlings from a 
cross may not, any of them, turn out good enough to name, or introduce, their breeding may be such 
they will make remarkable parents, and only if we know their pedigrees may we use them wisely 
in our breeding plans. Almost every hybridizer looks ahead several generations for hoped-for results. 
Success may not come in a day, or in first generation crosses, often, for if producing what we want 
could be accomplished so easily I am afraid all our hopes would already be fulfilled and we would 
have little to strive for. Growing seedlings is no small task; it is work (and fun) and demands great 
patience, but a good seedling is ample reward for the long hours of work and waiting, and every 
iris fancier in the world may some day own your creation if it has good growing qualities and 
possesses the charm that would demand its wide distribution. But if you are isolated and do not 
have an “up-to-date” collecton and you produce seedlings you feel are outstanding you should send 
these to other growers for trial and appraisal. And usually hosts for the American Iris Society 
annual conventions will gladly plant and grow your seedlings for this meeting of “top’’ enthusiasts, 
and if good your seedlings will be voted Highly Commended awards or commented on in the bulletins 
—then the next step would be their actual introduction to the iris loving public. What fun it is to 
register your first worthy iris. The cost for so doing is now one dollar, and the charge is made to 
eliminate, so far as possible, the registration of too many iris that are never formally introduced. 
Let us consider those seed pods, however, for they will be guarded until their browning and 
cracking tells us they are ready to harvest. If any fancier should have to be away from home at 
the time seeds may ripen he will be wise to tie cheese-cloth bags around each pod to prevent the 
spilling and dropping of the precious seeds and the loss, naturally of correct parentage. However, 
ordinarily the fancier is home approximately two months after he has made the crosses and can 
gather the seed as it ripens and he puts it into paper bags, marking clearly the pod and pollen parent 
on the bag—or he can insert the breeding tag, if all the information is on the tag. Personally I 
only mark the pollen parent on the tag since each plant will be labeled in the garden, anyway, 
and it is a time-saving device. In warm climates the seed may immediately be planted, but in cold 
sections of the country it will be wise to dry the seed and plant later in the fall before winter sets in. 
One may choose any number of ways of planting the seed, but I find field-planting of the seeds most 
satisfactory, since there is no transplanting necessary, the plants suffer no set-back from transplanting 
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